What I Learned This Week: 20

Sunday, October 1 – Saturday, October 7

This Week Underground: This week started underneath Cincinnati on American Legacy Tours’ Underground Tour benefiting the Cat Adoption Team. I’ve been on this tour before, but I’m such a homer I couldn’t resist a repeat. The tour starts on Vine St discussing Cincinnati’s brewing and drinking heritage (it’s impressive), then moves to St. Francis Church which is built on the grounds of an old cemetery. We were led to the crypt where those bodies that weren’t moved in time for the 1822 construction remain. After the crypt, the tour goes down under an apartment building, once a brewery, to visit recently discovered beer lagering caves. These historic caves are being found and excavated around the Over the Rhine area. Of course, we end up at the Moerlein Tap Room…to have a beer. The tour is a super fun interesting glimpse of history.

Part of the Kauffman brewery lagering caves. There is still excavating to be done.

This Week In Church: Not only was I in church for the underground tour, as I was walking past Old St. Mary’s on Tuesday I caught a glimpse of a rare, well-attended mid-week mass. I walked in just at the end and learned the mass was for Saint Thérèse of Lisieux known as The Little Flower. Apparently, the ceremony included reliquary, but I’m not Catholic so I didn’t walk to the alter

St. Theresa was a big draw for Old St. Mary’s

This Week In Upscale Street Drinking: Instead of the usual can or bottle of cheap ass beer littering the nooks of the hood, this week I found a bottle of Sutter Home wine. Fancy!

This Week in How to Pick a Book…Quick: In my book club one person each month brings three books to the group. We take a look at them and vote on the one we will read for the next meeting. Usually, the book presenter knows a month in advance that it’s her turn. This month a small emergency made the book presentation my turn. I had three days. My normally contemplative, brooding choice making was thrown out the window. I needed books quick.

The young librarian at the Sharonville Branch heard my plea. She fanned the library for book club books. I fanned the library for books I wanted to read. Did you know that often those are not over-lapping categories? Anyway, she picked 7, I picked 5. Of the twelve, I could only bring three to book club. I picked Best Boy, Throwback Special and The Tiger’s Wife. Book club chose The Tiger’s Wife. I’ll know next month if this book-choosing technique worked.

Me and the Librarian found 12 potential Book Club books in about 20 minutes. The winner is the one you can barely make out in this picture, The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht.

This Week in Anticipation: Cincinnati is about to host Blink, a huge light festival and the first of it’s kind here. Interactive light displays will be placed throughout the city. The trucks started the set up this week. I’ve seen them from the river, to Main Street, to Washington Park. This is going to be a great event.

Crews begin set up for next week’s Blink Festival. This is the courthouse building on Main.